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<title>And So It Begins Again by StarlightInTheNight</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25451437">And So It Begins Again</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightInTheNight/pseuds/StarlightInTheNight'>StarlightInTheNight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dark Ateez, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:06:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>591</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25451437</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightInTheNight/pseuds/StarlightInTheNight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He can't let it end like this. There's only one option left. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>(ATEEZ had a storyline contest recently for the upcoming comeback but since I'm trash at keeping up with stuff, I missed it. So I'm posting it here.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>And So It Begins Again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is short, under 1k. If anyone's interested in a expanded version (but still a one-shot), let me know.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The world is on fire around him. Blood clouds Hongjoong’s vision as he struggles to stand, body seizing in pain from the last blow he received. His head is impossibly heavy and feels stuffed with soaked cotton, sound bleeding through in muted notes. All he can hear at the moment is his heart pounding sluggishly in his throat. He slowly glances around for his crew members.</p><p>Jongho, the youngest and strongest of his crew, is passed out on the upturned earth, left arm twisted at an unnatural angle. Wooyoung struggles to support an exhausted San, who is on the verge of joining Jongho in unconsciousness. Seonghwa curls a bracing arm around Yeosang's heaving chest, he himself just as visibly tired. Mingi and Yunho are the only ones standing fast, albeit with fading strength, pressed side to side in support. They were not ones to go down without a fight. None of his crew were.  </p><p>He turns to face their enemies who stand tall, all obsidian night and cruel savagery and chained mouths, shadows withering at their feet. They are strong, inhumanly so, and defeat tastes bitter upon his tongue. This was not how it was supposed to be. This was not the legendary Wonderland that they had searched so long and tirelessly for. This was not their dream.</p><p>He turns back to his crew— his family —and looks at them one by one. He can't let it end like this. Can't let them die. Not when they’ve come so far. There's only one option left. The glass of the enchanted hourglass he had been gifted by a mysterious stranger is cool under his burned hands as he unclips it from his waist. The opalescent sand gleams brightly in its fragile container, a beacon of light. Its glow draws his crew’s attention and Seonghwa's eyes immediately flood with understanding. The others blink blearily at him in confusion.</p><p>Their tattered flag fluttering brokenly in the wind catches his eye, his crew's name and symbol searing into his mind and his resolve hardens. He looks at his family one last time and firmly presses the jeweled button atop the hourglass. It pulses gently and the sand begins to flow upwards. A blinding light blossoms from its center, growing rapidly until all he can see is overwhelming white. The world goes dark.</p><p>He's flying through space, encircled by glowing sand and precious memories. He sees it all. Finally finding and opening the door to Wonderland in one of those seemingly infinite otherworldly caves. The carefree and mindless fun they had while exploring the magical island. Journeying through cotton candy skies and thunderstorms in his beloved ship. Their shared desire and promise to one another. Their first battle against their dark counterparts where they were all nearly destroyed. Discovering the key to the door and accidentally opening Pandora's Box. The oasis that held the map to find their treasure. Their humble beginnings in the desert wastelands. The start of their dreams. To begin again.</p><p>— o0o —</p><p>Extra:</p><p>In a vast room with towering ceilings, a masked man sits, surrounded by overturned furniture and swirling ash. He cuts a striking figure in his winter whites against the darkness of the room. A gloved hand clutches a burnished telescope and the other runs across the silver cage that covers his face. A gossamer butterfly glowing a fluorescent blue lands on the arm of his throne and pulses silently. He hums at the tiny creature and rises, hand brushing the broken chandelier at his feet. </p><p>"And so it begins again."</p>
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